


you can hear it in the silence

by its_nochillforov



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Friends to Lovers, M/M, Slow Burn, i have no idea what i'm doing so i'll update the tags later i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 10:42:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11334120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/its_nochillforov/pseuds/its_nochillforov
Summary: Viktor Nikiforov breaks into Katsuki Yuuri's peaceful flat at five a.m. on a Tuesday morning and doesn't think it's strange in the slightest.They're both pretty lonely, so they come to the mutual decision to be lonely together instead.





	you can hear it in the silence

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Taylor Swift's "You Are In Love" (please don't judge me).

There’s a commotion in the living room and Yuuri doesn’t want to deal with it.  
He cracks an eye open, from where his face is smashed into his pillow, as if he’ll even be able to see anything without his glasses on.  
The door is closed. There is a faint light filtering past his curtains, but his alarm hasn’t gone off yet, which means it’s definitely too early for him to be awake.  
Forcefully, Yuuri is reminded of the situation that awoke him, by a thud that sounds painfully like a knee against a wall, and the muffled shriek that follows is enough to confirm the suspicion.  
Yuuri throws a leg over the side of his bed, groans for effect, and flings an arm out to hunt for his glasses. He nearly trips over a rogue sock on his way down the still-dark corridor, but perhaps his half-conscious instincts are better than he expected, because he catches himself on the wall just before a resounding yip echoes through the apartment.  
Yuuri rubs at his eyes, willing his optic fibers to cooperate for once and allow him to see something past the smudged lenses sitting on his nose, but all he can register is a blur of tan coat and silver hair and a more familiar, smaller, also tan blur.  
There is most definitely a stranger in his house. The hour is somewhere between dawn and six thirty a.m. and that is too early for there to be a stranger in his house.  
The stranger is cooing at Yuuri’s dog. Yuuri’s dog seems to be enjoying it. Fucking traitor. Didn’t Vicchan ever learn stranger danger?  
“Excuse me,” Yuuri says, or at least he attempts to croak it out past his sleep ridden throat, and he’s not really sure how much of the words comes out and how much gets too strangled to comprehend, “but who are you?”  
The stranger stops abruptly in the fussing attention he is paying to Vicchan, who whines mournfully at the loss of contact. The stranger’s silver-haloed head blinks up at Yuuri from where he’s crouched on Yuuri’s carpet. “Hello! Viktor Nikiforov, lovely to meet you.” He holds out a hand and beams up at Yuuri. Yuuri can’t see much besides the spread of his lips and the red flush to his face.  
Against the voice of reason, Yuuri takes the man’s hand. It’s freezing. Yuuri drops it with a squawk and brings his own poor fingers up to his chest to keep them warm. “Why are you so cold?”  
Viktor blinks again, rather owlishly, before providing any sort of response. “I apologize. I must have been outside for quite the while. I didn’t really notice.”  
“What do you – okay,” Yuuri cuts himself off, choosing in his half-asleep state to still ask the proper questions first, because he might not be a proper adult but goddamn he can still ask the proper questions first, “what are you doing in my house?” Something occurs to Yuuri rather belatedly, “Did you pick the lock to get in here?”  
Viktor nods, far too enthusiastic about it, “I had to pick the lock, yes.” He turns back to Vicchan, who’s pawing at Viktor’s thigh like he’s got some business with him, and settles his hands in Vicchan’s curly fur. “And I just needed a quick place to hide for a while. You know, as things settle down. And I saw your puppy, and it was a no-brainer after that. I won’t be a bother, I promise.” Earnestly, he locks his eyes on Yuuri’s, but it takes him a long moment, mostly because Yuuri’s eyes are so unfocused that Viktor has to hunt down his gaze.  
Yuuri rubs at his eyes again. The world is getting slightly sharper in response. He does it again. By some mercy, he can now actually see.  
Viktor, Yuuri realizes, as he stands there having just woken up and staring down at a stranger who broke into his house to pet his dog, is extremely, devastatingly, unbelievably handsome.  
Yuuri’s natural response to this realization is, of course, to make a strangled sound from the back of his throat, and subsequently throw himself at the nearest chair.  
Viktor watches him. “What’s your name?” He asks.  
Yuuri has half a mind to snort and tell him to fuck right off, because this is Yuuri’s house and Viktor’s a stranger and has no right to know anything about him, but the other half of his mind is blaring Klaxon alarms and setting things on fire inside his mind and saying he’s hot, he’s hot, he’s hot.  
Some happy medium (ish) between the two results in “Yuuri.”  
Viktor smiles. “Hello, Yuuri. I think I woke you up. My apologies, but I won’t bother you anymore, and you’re welcome to go back to bed. I’m happy to play with your puppy for a while longer.”  
After a beat of silence, in which Yuuri scrutinizes Viktor’s stupidly flawless face and then everything else about him that Yuuri can lay his eyes on, Yuuri sighs, and buries his face in his hands. “I might as well just stay up. My alarm’s going to ring soon.”  
“What?”  
Yuuri picks his face up and aims it towards where Viktor is still on his knees in front of Vicchan, perfectly content, as if he’ll never move, which Yuuri probably wouldn’t complain about – “I said it’s fine. Have you had breakfast?”  
“Are you going to make breakfast?” He sounds extremely eager about this. Yuuri’s not sure what could have prompted such a reaction.  
Yuuri stands. Begins dragging his feet towards the bathroom so that he might brush his teeth before they all fall out because he’s sat staring at the attractive stranger for too long, and there’s that disgusting feeling in his mouth that’s kind of detracting from the feeling of being in the presence of said attractive stranger. “Yes. I do plan to make breakfast. Because I want to eat something.”  
“Oh. That sounds delightful. I’ll be out of your hair in a few hours though, no need to fix anything for me.”  
Yuuri hums his acknowledgement. Partway through brushing his teeth, when he’s got toothpaste foam on his chin and a brush hanging out of his lips and he’s examining the shadows under his eyes that don’t seem to quit, his mind’s off running through the events of the morning, and Yuuri establishes effectively that he really shouldn’t be considered a responsible adult. Because what kind of responsible adult looks at the man that has broken into his house, at an absurd hour of the morning, and offers him breakfast?  
Katsuki Yuuri, that’s who.  
Yuuri squints at himself in the mirror. Oh well, he finally settles on thinking, as he runs a comb through his hair, if he’s going to kill me, he would’ve done it already. And if he’s going to steal something, he probably wouldn’t be wearing what looks like a designer coat.  
Before he steps back into the living room, Yuuri steels himself.  
Which proves to be unnecessary, as he’s greeted by Vicchan pawing at his shins, and Viktor sprawled on Yuuri’s battered old couch, looking entirely like he doesn’t belong there. His long legs (Yuuri notices this because those are… those are some long legs, holy crap) hang off one end of the couch while the other end pillows his head, and he flicks through what looks to be Instagram on his phone.  
At the sound of Yuuri’s footsteps, he peers up at Yuuri, and gives an upside-down smile that does weird things to Yuuri’s state of being.  
“All dressed up and ready to go, I see. That’s quite lovely.”  
Yuuri pops bread in the toaster and goes to pour the water into the coffee machine when he’s greeted with his coffee, steaming hot, exactly where it should be.  
From the couch, where he hasn’t moved an inch, Viktor says, “I thought I’d make myself useful and get the coffee started for you. Is that okay?”  
Yuuri stares at the machine. It stares back, utterly still, and there are a few thoughts running through Yuuri’s mind at the simple action that he chooses firmly not to address. “Yeah.” A pause. “Thank you.”  
“Do you have jam?” Viktor asks idly. Yuuri glances back at him, and his attention hasn’t moved from whatever he’s looking at on his phone, which Yuuri’s thankful for, because he knows he’s a bumbling mess in the morning and he definitely doesn’t need Viktor noticing.  
“Jam? Yeah, I think so. Why?”  
“I like jam with my tea,” he says nonchalantly. Unbidden, a laugh finds its way out of Yuuri’s mouth, which he’s quick to stifle, because who is he to judge when he eats his fried rice with a default of hot sauce on the side, and Phichit tells him that’s absolutely not a normal thing to do?  
Viktor flings his arm to the side, dropping his phone onto the carpet, and wails. “It’s not funny! Why does everyone think it’s funny?”  
“I’m sorry! It’s weird!” Yuuri sips his coffee. It’s nice. Rationally, it tastes the utter same as every other morning he’s had it. But if he doesn’t think about it, it’s odd to be drinking the coffee someone else put on. In his Keurig. In his home.  
The toast pops up. It startles Yuuri. It does not startle Viktor. He is unstartled. Very serene, paints an odd picture all laid out on that old couch, in his nice-looking slacks and his nice-looking coat and his nice-looking hair.  
Yuuri turns away, to poke at his toast.  
It needs some jam.  
Ten minutes later, there’s strawberry jam on his toast, which is a combination he hasn’t even considered in the months since Phichit abandoned that jar of jam in Yuuri’s apartment for the luxuries of a place closer to his own work building. There’s also strawberry jam in the steaming mug of tea that he has clutched in his other hand.  
He sets it on the table by Viktor’s head. The moment he steps away from it, Viktor’s nose twitches, and his eyes land on the mug, and his eyes widen impossibly. It’s like the moment in cartoons when the character’s eyes grow to the size of dinner plates and start to glimmer, like there are those stupidly drawn little diamonds in his pupils. “You made me tea?”  
Yuuri taps his feet on the carpet. His socks keep his toes hidden. “Wasn’t any trouble.”  
Viktor smiles as he picks up the mug, gingerly.  
“I have to go now,” Yuuri blurts. Goddammit, he’s an adult. It’s a normal thing. What’s not normal is having to ask the stranger to leave his house so he can feel at least a morsel responsible as he locks up. But, you know, that’s his life, so he asks it anyway. “Are you going to – stay here? Do you have any – somewhere to be?” Please leave. This situation is getting worse with every word I say.  
Viktor peers at the watch on his wrist. It’s got a golden sheen to it, and there’s no brand name that Yuuri recognizes, and Yuuri’s really got no sense for these things, but he accepts that it probably costs more than he can imagine. “I think I’ll be fine to wander. I mean, I’ve been here for, what, an hour? An hour and a half? That should be enough.”  
“Who are you hiding from, anyway?” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, Yuuri wants to catch them and shove them back. It’s none of his business, is it? And now Viktor’s going to think he’s got nothing better to do than ask prying questions.  
(Which, if Yuuri’s honest, is sort of partially a little bit true.)  
Viktor scrunches up his face. He shakes his head, and his fringe flops in a ridiculously way that makes Yuuri feel a… a thing. Yuuri studiously ignores it. “Not exactly sure, when I try to put it into words, you know. I just needed to get away, and when I found myself in an apartment complex, where else to hide?” Viktor smiles.  
Yuuri’s brows draw together, slightly in worry and slightly in horror.  
Viktor’s mind catches up. “Oh! No, no, oh dear, I’ve made it sound like I’m some sort of serial killer, and I swear I’m not, I’m just a normal person, really. It’s just that sometimes, journalists have no sense of space, and I respect their profession, I do, I just wish they would leave me alone, you know?”  
Yuuri blinks at the incoherent stream of words. “Alright.”  
“Alright?”  
“… Okay. Sure. So you’re leaving?”  
Viktor stands up. He dusts himself off. The hot mug of tea is still in his hand. He gestures towards the door with it. “I am, I suppose. I’ll bring your mug back, though.” He’s at the door in a few smooth movements and then he’s out the door, a disarming smile thrown at Yuuri on his way out, and Yuuri’s not exactly sure what just happened.

[ When the caffeine lights up Yuuri’s system, and his procession functions do happen to catch up to the turn of events, the clock in his office reads 10.37am. Yuuri wants to throw something. His common sense suggests that he not throw anything of value, so he throws a pen at the door, right as Takeshi-san opens it, and the pen hits Nishigori’s knee with no ceremony.  
Nishigori’s gaze goes from the fallen pen, by his foot, up to Yuuri’s face, which is scrunched in an effort not to process any more events, thank you very much.  
“Something you want to say to me, Katsuki?”  
Yuuri shakes his head firmly no.  
Nishigori grins. “Right. Okay, I’ll just come back later, then.”  
When Nishigori shuts the door, Yuuri throws his head back and lets out a loud groan. He’s halfway to convincing himself that he dreamed up the handsome stranger, who’s probably also at least a little famous if he’s got journalists chasing him at five in the morning.  
Probably… probably a figment of Yuuri’s sleep-deprived imagination.  
Maybe Yuuri needs help. ]

**Author's Note:**

> hello! so i'm new. please lmk if you have any thoughts like it will make my day to get any emails from ao3 about this fic so please don't hesitate to say something i will be so happy. come find me at [my tumblr? (its-nochillforov)](its-nochillforov.tumblr.com)
> 
> xx S
> 
> ps also if anyone wants to help me with formatting i'll forever love u because i really really need help formatting i am so lost lkasj; dfajebrjlg y g


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